Press Release

IIE to Honor Microsoft at its Annual International Awards Gala on September 21

NEW YORK—At the Institute of International Education’s awards gala in New York City on September 21, IIE will present Microsoft with the Opening Minds Corporate Leadership Award in recognition of the company’s global philanthropy and outstanding commitment to corporate social responsibility and education in communities around the world. More than 500 business, education, government, foundation and policy leaders will celebrate the award winners’ commitment to international education and the empowerment of women through education.

Pamela Passman, Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Global Corporate Affairs, will accept the award on Microsoft’s behalf. The event will highlight Microsoft’s support for the Women in Technology Program, a successful public-private partnership between Microsoft, IIE and the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) of the U.S. Department of State to provide women throughout the Middle East and North Africa with vital business and technology skills.

The Women in Technology (WIT) program for the Middle East and North Africa provides local organizations and the women they serve with cutting-edge training in business planning, professional development and information technology. WIT’s sustainable business model expands local organizations’ reach, sustainability and ability to serve women and girls. By the end of 2010, WIT will have trained more than 10,000 women, increasing their participation in the workforce, entrepreneurship and civil society, and built the capacity of 60 women’s organizations in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen.

More than 500 WIT participants have obtained internships or employment in banks, corporations, and NGOs, and more than 100 women trained by WIT have started their own businesses. In addition, the program has trained more than 700 trainers and partner organization staff, and generated income for WIT training centers enabling them to employ 150 women WIT Yemen was presented with a Best Practices Certificate by the Dubai Municipality and the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) in 2009, and Microsoft won the 'Best Arab Corporate Social Responsibility Award' of the Year from the Union of Arab ICT Association in 2010 in recognition of its significant contribution to empowering women through programs such as WIT.

At the Gala, the Institute will also honor outstanding individuals who further the goals of IIE's work in international educational exchange. Kapil Sibal, Minister of Human Resource Development in India, will receive IIE’s Stephen P. Duggan Award for Mutual Understanding, named for the Institute’s founder. Minister Sibal’s vision of global education and commitment to internationalizing Indian higher education, especially through partnerships with U.S. institutions, promises to provide greater higher education access across India and open India’s doors to increased global collaboration.

Chuck Close will receive IIE’s Fritz Redlich Alumni Award in recognition of his distinguished career as a world-renowned artist whose life and works have increased mutual understanding, and his status as an alumnus of the Fulbright program. After receiving his MFA from Yale, Close had a Fulbright fellowship to Austria in 1964-65, which enabled him to study art and visit artists who were working in Europe, gaining valuable international insight at the outset of his career. His highly innovative and creative works have made him one of the most important artists of our time, and his remarkable career is the subject of this year’s acclaimed biography, “Chuck Close: Life.”

Denise Benmosche and Amy C. Brandt will receive IIE’s Women’s Global Leadership Award in recognition of their exceptional commitment to advancing IIE’s Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF). Both women have played a seminal role in enabling SRF to rescue persecuted scholars from around the globe and advance academic freedom worldwide.

According to IIE President and CEO Allan E. Goodman, "The individuals and organizations that the Institute is honoring realize the potential impact of education on people’s lives across the world and represent the diversity of the community that champions international education. They are leaders in business, government, philanthropy and the arts, and they embody IIE's mission. They are a reminder of what is possible when exchange ideas, learn from each other and cooperate globally. IIE is proud to celebrate their many achievements."

About the Institute of International Education

The Institute of International Education (IIE), a private not-for-profit organization founded in 1919, is a world leader in the international exchange of people and ideas. IIE designs and implements over 200 programs of study and training for students, educators, young professionals and trainees from all sectors with funding from government and private sources. These programs include the Fulbright Student and Scholar programs, the Gilman International Scholarship Program, and the Humphrey Fellowships, administered for the Department of State, as well as corporate and foundation training and scholarship programs. IIE also conducts policy research, provides advice and counseling on international educational opportunities abroad, and provides emergency support to students and scholars in danger. The Institute of International Education has a network of 18 international offices worldwide and more than 1,000 college and university members. Since IIE was founded, a total of 62 IIE alumni or Trustees have won the Nobel Prize.